Enzymes are continuing to gain popularity among livestock producers due to their ability to improve animal performance and reduce nutritional variation in raw materials. Specifically, protease enzymes have the potential to improve protein digestibility.

Here are seven benefits of including a protease enzyme in your poultry feed rations:

Enhance protein digestion. The addition of a protease to a feed can result in improved amino acid digestibility across various protein sources.

Minimize the impact of anti-nutritional factors. A protease can degrade anti-nutritional factors and allergenic proteins in feedstuffs.

Support gut health. By improving protein digestibility, proteases reduce undigested protein entering hind GI tract, reduce protein fermentation in the large intestine and thereby, improve gut health. This has been verified by the increased villus to crypt ratio and decreased Clostridium perfringens in poultry.

Reduce protein levels without sacrificing performance. Adding a protease to feed rations with reduced protein levels, results in no performance decrease due to the enzyme’s ability to get more from the existing protein.

Increase energy values of feed rations formulated with a protease. Improving protein digestibility with protease inclusion, results in a higher energy value for the diet.

Utilise a wider range of protein sources. The broader effects of protease activity allow the wider use and higher inclusion of locally available protein sources.

Protease works together with other in-feed enzymes. The addition of a protease has no negative impact on the activity of other in-feed enzymes, but rather they work together because each enzyme has its specific substrate.